Shadows to Battle Eyesore

“It is an activity carried out at night,shocking offenders and awakening citizens to things they have been missing because of the visual clutter in the city. We created shadow projections on illegal banners in the suburbs of Mumbai and also extended it to parts of Navi Mumbai like Vashi and Koparkhairane,” Raiyani said.

With their fingers,palms,wrists and forearms,the volunteers created shadows of flying birds,swaying trees,the rising Sun,the ocean,blooming flowers,kites,temples and churches. “We went from one illegal hoarding to the other,projecting and protesting. We chose this medium as a canvas that depicted all the beautiful things that the banners were hiding,” Raiyani said. A PIL filed by the NGO for the removal of illegal hoardings is pending in the Bombay High Court.

Five-six members of the group carried out the quiet protest at one place at a time.

The time for the activity was after 8 pm when most office-goers return home. While passers by looked at the moving shadows on faces of grinning politicians curiously,sometimes a group of about 20 persons stopped by the hoarding and watched the slide-show spanning over a few minutes that ultimately played out Janhit Manch’s message ‘protest against illegal hoardings.’

Amidst moving traffic,the slide-show,however,grabbed the intrigue,smiles and nods of agreement from pedestrians and motorists alike. The idea was a team effort by the volunteers of Janhit Manch. The protest was not only creative but also inexpensive. “The idea only required shadow artistes,a projector and people with a will to do something for the city they live in,” Raiyani said. The NGO hopes more people join their protest against illegal hoardings.

“Banners can be put up only under certain guidelines. The prohibition provided under the corporation’s guidelines state that no hoarding shall be permitted,which will cover vision of the sea,greenery,landscaping or large size trees in the adjoining areas. It shall also not be permitted near beaches,parking lots or on any land adjacent to sea coast on seaward side of the road,” Raiyani said. He said in order to differentiate between a legal hoarding and an illegal one,the NGO feels that citizens need to be made aware of some facts like banners need to be 80 feet away from signals and traffic junctions and 10 feet above the road. Minimum distance between two hoardings should be 10 meters. “Our idea was to attack the medium of illegal hoardings as a whole and to send out a strong message to lawmakers and lawbreakers. It is a collective responsibility,” Raiyani said.

He added that there are thousands of illegal hoardings in the city hoisted for various reasons like celebrating birthdays of politicians,spiritual gurus or announcing sales. The ratio of every legal banner against illegal banners in Mumbai,according to a survey,is an appalling 1:24,the NGO claims.

Though the activity has not yielded a response from officers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or the state government yet,Raiyani said they hope,as more people join their cause,government bodies too will take note of these illegal hoardings and do away with them.

(To report illegal hoardings,the NGO can be contacted on 22972942)